


Primeval fic: Confusing Lines

by dominique012



Category: Primeval
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 09:08:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1422559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dominique012/pseuds/dominique012
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> He didn't trust himself.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Primeval fic: Confusing Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://cyberawr.livejournal.com/profile)[**cyberawr**](http://cyberawr.livejournal.com/) at [](http://primevalathon.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://primevalathon.livejournal.com/)**primevalathon** , with the prompt 'The lines of right and wrong merged into one as her lips met his.'

**Words:** 1680  
 **Pairing:** Nick/Jenny  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Summary:** _He didn't trust himself._  
 **Spoilers:** S2. It's an AU set (mostly) between the end of S2 and beginning of S3.  
 **Notes:** Written for [](http://cyberawr.livejournal.com/profile)[**cyberawr**](http://cyberawr.livejournal.com/) at [](http://primevalathon.livejournal.com/profile)[**primevalathon**](http://primevalathon.livejournal.com/), with the prompt 'The lines of right and wrong merged into one as her lips met his.'

  
_Suppose there was another world once._

Nick walked away from Jenny Lewis' door feeling like an idiot - and fairly certain he'd sounded like a babbling loon. He wasn't even sure that he'd had a sentence ready after 'Now what if all that were possible' - the appearance of her pretty boyfriend had almost been a relief. Almost.

Walking the darkened street, he tried to work out why he'd felt compelled to make a connection with her. And this brought him, for the millionth time, to his last few moments with Claudia. He pressed his lips together, inwardly punching that spot in the pit of his gut he'd been repeatedly punching since returning. Something had happened. Claudia was gone. And Jenny was -

Not her. He repeated this to himself a couple of times as he walked along.

***

Jenny pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and picked up her pace. She was loath to face her trainer without having gone for at least one jog over the weekend. She figured an early Monday morning run counted, even after a particularly lazy - and somewhat boozy - weekend.

She rounded the corner to her finish line - a cafe perfectly situated for a quick take-away. Breathing heavily, she came to a stop near the tables outside and was surprised to see a familiar face. He hadn't seen her.

She looked down at her t-shirt and wiped her forehead gingerly with the back of one hand. She considered that it might actually be more sociable to _not_ approach him. Looking over, however she saw she'd been spied, and he was looking at her with a bemused smile.

She made her way over to his table. Smiled brightly while wondering how disgusting she actually looked. "Cutter."

"Jenny." His eyes flickered over her appearance and though she detected some amusement in his expression, he kept his thoughts to himself.

She shrugged, feeling foolishly self-conscious. "I'm...trying to stay fit."

"You're looking...very...well."

She frowned, unsure what to do with that. "What are you doing here?"

Nick shrugged. "I woke up early. I thought...a quick cup of coffee in the sun." He looked around. "It's nice enough."

She smiled, somehow heartened at the sight of Nick Cutter grabbing a moment in the sun just because he could. Since Stephen's death, Cutter had looked either exhausted or tormented; often both. Dark silence replaced his usual focused energy and attention to the team. She knew he was blaming himself on a daily basis.

Seeing him more or less relaxed with a smile on his face - though it was possibly at her expense - gave her an overwhelming sense of relief. She was surprised at how good it made her feel.

Nick nodded towards the empty chair near him. "Join me, if you like."

She considered it for a half a second before reality hit. "Ah." She smiled. "Maybe not. I was just going to take one home. I'm...not so fresh at the moment."

He grinned at her, and she felt suddenly light inside. "See you at work then."

She headed off. As she walked into the cafe, she felt herself grin too.

***

Nick took a long sip of coffee as he watched Jenny walk into the cafe. She was wearing black leggings, dark red t-shirt, trainers. Hair in a ponytail and flushed cheeks showing through not much makeup. Nick exhaled slowly. She was beautiful and he was confused.

In just a few weeks she'd gone from a pushy, know-it-all bureaucrat to occasionally helpful to pretty damn impressive. That wasn't the confusing part; he was more than willing to get along with her, respect her, like her.

It wasn't confusing that she looked beautiful all hot and tired, and noticeably self-conscious. It was alluring to see her like that - just Jenny, no PR. And he liked her with not much make up - that look was a bit familiar to him.

Nick looked down into his cup. And there it was.

Being attracted to the woman who in every physical sense was Claudia, who might have _been_ Claudia in another universe. He wanted to laugh, it was so bizarre. And of course, Jenny wasn't Claudia, he knew. He knew and he still wanted her.

He didn't trust himself not to want her for wrong reasons. He didn't trust himself to not to get it wrong - his feelings, his picture of her, everything.

And yet - he didn't want to just sit and wait and do nothing forever.

He saw her emerge from the cafe. She gave him a wave and walked quickly away.

He'd lost the last woman he liked before really discovering her. It would be stupid to do it a second time.

***

They walked slowly out of Lester's office.

She stopped in the hallway and turned to him. "There's nothing else we can do."

He shook his head. "Wait until the anomaly reopens."

"Cutter - " It sounded like she meant to say more, but got stuck. Fear was plain in her eyes.

He sighed, wanting to...do something. Like hold her. "Jenny. It'll open. We'll pick it up. They'll make it back."

She shook her head. "We should have stopped them. Connor said..."

Nick reached out to gently squeeze her shoulder. The gesture felt strange, he felt like some kind of awkward robot. "We thought it was right. And you know - of all the people to survive for a while in the late Cretaceous, Connor and Abby are the two to do it. "

She smiled wanly at him and reluctantly he withdrew his arm.

***

Two hours later, they'd picked at lunch, numbly finished old reports, and scoured Connor's database twice.

Now they were just standing still. Waiting.

Nick looked at Jenny leaning against the wall next to him. She was staring into space, but turned to meet his eyes with the ghost of a smile.

Their shoulders were nearly touching. Nick could smell her perfume, and his mind suddenly flew back to three days ago when he'd seen her all sweaty from her run. Claudia had never really worn much perfume. He closed his eyes for a second.

Jenny frowned. "Are you alright?"

He tried to smile, hoping it didn't look too much like a grimace. "This is...difficult."

She nodded. "Waiting is the worst. It was the same when you and Stephen got stuck. "

Again he resisted a powerful impulse to touch her. The last time he'd felt that way he'd ended up kissing a half-blind and terrified Claudia in the middle of a really bad day. He wondered if some part of him just wanted to see if she felt like Claudia did. He shook his head, knowing that was wrong, hating that he was questioning himself.

Jenny reached over and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

And before he knew it, motives and questions apparently thrown aside, he'd leaned in towards her. He brushed his lips against her cheek, before gently capturing her mouth. The lines of right and wrong merged into one as her lips met his; as his fingertips traced her jaw, as he stroked the nape of her neck.

He felt her fingers rest hesitantly against his chest as she slowly kissed him back.

Feeling her lips, her hands sliding up his body, her arms around him, Nick's mind stumbled and reeled. His so-called defences had crumbled utterly. His strange and confusing yearning for her had led him here, holding her tightly, unable to pull away.

***

Nick watched Jenny gather Abby and Connor in one more happy hug before pushing them towards the door. Though showered, changed, with cuts and scrapes attended to, they both looked battered and completely exhausted; Nick gathered they'd spent the entire four hours running, jumping, and dodging various forms of danger. Connor looked over with an exhausted salute. Nick smiled and waved him out.

His eyes settled on Jenny. She was wearing a white top with a narrow black skirt and what could only be described - in his mind at least - as absurd shoes. He had commented on them more than once; they looked more like sleek, dark, sharp weapons than footwear. He didn't remember ever being attracted to a woman wearing shoes like that. And he knew that Jenny had started out to him as just a reminder of Claudia. But he also knew that there were innumerable things about them that were different, and he didn't feel like making the same overcautious mistake twice. He wouldn't ignore what was staring him in the face. He'd trust himself if it killed him.

He watched her talking on her mobile, and remembered her palm sliding over his collarbone, resting on his shoulder.

He'd continued to hold her after they'd stopped kissing. Her cheeks were flushed and her dark eyes frowned up at him in confusion. A faint smile hovered over her mouth.

Nick had been speechless for a few seconds, before realising that he'd better say something. "Jenny, I - "

_Want you. Want this. Want something. Don't speak English. Damn it!_

" - seem to be unable to gather a coherent thought."

She smiled then. And then he quickly continued without waiting for his brain to interfere.

"You've been on my mind a lot recently. I've been...It's been.. a bit preoccupying." He stared at the floor for a second before looking at her. "It's been a bit of a confusing mess actually. But I think I'd - I'm just trying to - I'd like to - "

And luckily at that point, she'd decided to take pity on him rather than wait for him to finish what would have taken a normal person just a moment to get out. Lester had interrupted their second kiss.

The click-click of those ridiculous shoes interrupted his thoughts now.

Jenny approached him with a smile.

He took a deep breath and spoke before she could, before the words could get lost.

"Jenny Lewis. I'd really like to take you out for a drink. Tonight. " He paused before quickly adding. "If you like."

**end**   



End file.
